Ram Janmabhoomi Trust shortlists August 3 and 5 for foundation stone event; PM to finalise

Amid the relaxed restrictions of Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown, the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on Saturday have shortlisted August 3 or 5 as the likely dates for the foundation stone-laying ceremony. The trust which met earlier in the day in Ayodhya, has sent the invitation to Prime Minister Modi who will finalise the date, after which construction will commence. The trust has estimated that construction of the temple will be completed in 3-3.5 years i.e by 2023 - the year of the Uttar Pradesh State polls. The ceremony was previously stalled due to India-China's layoff.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India's tally soars to 10.38 lakhs; recovery rate at 62.93%

Ram mandir foundation ceremony in August

Speaking to the media, the trust chief secretary - Champat Rai said that 10 Crore families across 4 Lakh localities of the country will be contacted for fund collection. Moreover,  he added that Larsen & Toubro (L&T) which will construct the temple will use Sompura Marbles. L&T which has already prepared the building's drawings has started collecting soil samples to begin foundation work. As per the tentative design, the temple is set to be constructed over two floors - spanning  161ft in length, 140ft in width, and 128 ft in height, comprising of 5 domes.

Ram Janmabhoomi trust halts temple's stone-laying ceremony amid Indo-China Galwan faceoff

Yogi Adityanath performs 'shifting of Ram Lalla'

In March, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had performed a special puja and shifted Ram Lalla from the makeshift temple in Ayodhya to another a pre-fabricated temple in the same premises. This was the first time the Ram Lalla statue was shifted from the contested land after 27 years. Amid the nationwide lockdown, the 'puja' had only a few people in attendance with social distancing norms being implemented. In November 2019, the Supreme Court had ended the seven-decade long land dispute, awarding the Ram Janmabhoomi land to the Hindu parties and offering an alternated land to the Muslim parties.

WATCH: UP CM Yogi shifts Ayodhya Ram Lalla idol from makeshift temple with special puja

Ram Mandir Trust formation & meetings

Prime Minister Modi had announced the formation of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust in the Lok Sabha on February 5, with his own former Principal Secretary Nripendra Misra heading the construction committee. The committee has met several times and has invited the PM to lay the foundation stone when the construction begins. President of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust Mahant Nritya Gopal Das has claimed that the construction of the Ram Temple will begin in 6 months, in the same place where Babri Masjid was present.

Massive finding at Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi: Shivaling, broken idols & pillars excavated